The Formation of a Team
by stingrae90
Summary: Every team has a beginning. Every group of friends has a time they didn't know each other well. The Kyoshi Warriors are no exception. Come. Let me show you why.
1. Prologue: The End of the Story

A/N: Random fun fact(s) of the day: This story grew out of a request by my beta to borrow my interpretation of Suki's Kyoshi Warrior team. I offerred to give her a profile and character document covering the girls, my personal head canon on how KW training is handled and other such relevant facts, and it quickly snowballed from there. Caelum and I discovered we liked learning more about these girls, and I discovered they had a fascinating tale of friendship and overcoming the odds to tell us. That profile/character document was sent, but it was rather quickly followed by what would eventually become this fic. The Formation of a Team answered why Suki and her team are such different people, and how in the _world_ they got to be such good friends in the first place. Soon after, the girls decided to tell me how they managed to become a team, in addition to friends, and _that_ story will be told in The Confirmation of a Team. That will be a separate fic, after I've finished posting this one, and will also answer why Suki and the elders were so ready to believe Aang, Sokka and Katara were Fire Nation spies in Suki's introduction in Season 1.

But, to pull back from the tangent here...I'm not cruel enough to through you over a decade into the past of the Avatar world right off the bat. Some introduction is needed, with a familiar character we know has a connection to the Kyoshi Warriors, most specifically, the ones that were not named in the show proper (can also be read as everyone but Suki!). So we start our story in a small Fire Nation prison on the outskirts of the capital, not long after the Boiling Rock. There's a lonely girl known as Ty Lee who desperately needs someone to tell her she did the right thing in betraying her princess...

* * *

_A standoff. _

_Two girls. Once friends, now enemies._

_Lightning crackles. Daggers gleam._

I have to make a choice!

_Stances solidify._

_Golden eyes snap with rage. An aura teems with the intent to kill._

NO! She's our friend!

_One falls. _

_She stands stunned. A friendship that never was dissolves around her._

_Rough hands grab her shoulders. She is made to face the one she betrayed._

Can it be betrayal if _she_ broke the trust first?

"_Put them somewhere I'll never have to see their faces again. And let them _rot."

_Something changes._

_Fiery golden eyes and crackling blue lightning are all she can see._

Ty Lee jerked upright on her futon, breath a panicky flutter in her chest as she clutched at her heart, eyes wide. Frantic gray eyes scanned her tiny cell, seeing only the bare metal walls, and the thin blanket she had thrown to the floor in her panic.

As her heart rate slowed back down to normal, Ty Lee shivered and pulled the blanket back up and wrapped herself in it, fighting down tears. She had made her choice at the Boiling Rock and she _would not_ regret it. Friends didn't attack one another, and they shouldn't make you choose between people you cared about either.

When had Azula forgotten that? And how had Ty Lee missed it? How had she been so completely oblivious to the steady darkening of Azula's aura – which had started as a healthy deep red, if somewhat marred by the black of a grudge never released -and the creeping feeling of _sickness_ that accompanied it? The feeling that was so strong around Fire Lord Ozai had been getting steadily stronger in his daughter, and Ty Lee had missed it. Had missed her only opportunity to keep her friend from sliding down that path.

How?

Ty Lee's lips curved in a sad smile as she answered her own question. "I didn't want to see. I didn't want to admit Azula would ever hurt her friends. Would ever be that much like her father. But…we were never friends, were we?" Suddenly weary in more than body, Ty Lee lay back down and closed her eyes, still clutching the thin blanket to her as if to ward off evil spirits. "We were just more tools in her power games."

* * *

From the moment Ty Lee stepped into the prison yard, she knew she would have no friends here. The war prisoners saw only another hated Fire Nation citizen and her fellow countrymen and women saw only a girl of noble descent who had betrayed her princess. The guards had made sure _that_ knowledge was well spread.

No one saw _Ty Lee._

So she kept to herself, trying hard not to be noticed. Trying hard to convince herself it didn't matter that everyone in this prison hated her. She had made the right choice.

She walked with her back straight, refusing to wilt before the weight of the heated glares sent her way by her countrymen. The war prisoners seemed disgusted that yet _another_ Fire Nation citizen had been inflicted on them. Ty Lee let her gaze skip across all of them, never lingering on anyone for more than a few seconds.

So when Ty Lee's gaze skipped across familiar features at the same time that a mostly low-voiced argument reached her ears, she was startled enough to stop and listen.

"I swear, if he does that _one more time…_"

"Tali, please, calm down. It doesn't matter. Let it go."

"Yes, it does matter, Subira! We might be prisoners but that doesn't mean we aren't human anymore! We have the right to be respected, at the very least as warriors in our own right!"

"I agree. It's disgraceful the way he acts. How the other guards can tolerate such behavior from one of their own, I can't understand. Someone needs to put him in his place."

"Ra_jani_, you're not helping."

"Well,_ sorry_ if I want to defend my pride as a Kyoshi Warrior-"

"I'm not saying you shouldn't!"

"Sure sounded like it."

"Quit behaving like a child, Rajani."

"I am NOT a child!"

"Subira! Rajani! You're acting like Min and Intan did when they were _five!"_

"Hey!"

Ty Lee blinked at the familiar girls, something in the voices further triggering her half-recognition. There were five girls clustered in a close group. Two of them-a young girl with a gentle but stern face and a younger girl with sharp features-had detached themselves from the main discussion to argue with a stern and uncompromising looking older girl about their behavior. One of the other girls was glaring daggers at a prison guard standing some ten feet away from her, while the final girl just sighed and cast a glance towards the sky in a 'what can you do?' sort of way. Ty Lee's half recognition solidified as she got a good look at their faces – they didn't look all that different without the face paint, really. They were the Kyoshi Warriors, missing only their leader, whom Azula had sent to the Boiling Rock almost immediately after her capture.

It would be a _very_ good idea to keep away from that group. They would without a doubt remember her role in their capture. But the acrobat's natural curiosity got the better of her. What had happened to make the Kyoshi Warrior – Tali? - think she and her teammates were being disrespected?

Looking back and forth between the glaring girl, and the smirking guard, Ty Lee had a sinking feeling that she knew the answer already. Did no one in the Earth Kingdom play power games? Or were they all too straightforward for that?

She could see what was going to happen before it did. The guard let another barbed comment fly in the direction of the girls, anticipation glinting brightly in his eyes. The Kyoshi Warrior Ty Lee thought was called Tali stiffened and clenched her fists, mouth opening to retort, and the disgraced Fire Nation girl moved before she could think about it.

One quick grab of an arm halted the other girl in her tracks. "Don't," Ty Lee whispered, speaking rapidly to conceal the fear that spurted through her. What was she thinking, throwing herself into the middle of these girls? They hated her; they probably wouldn't mind hurting her! Still, she kept talking. "He _wants _you to attack him." The other girl glared at her, freeing her arm of Ty Lee's grip with a sharp jerk and backing a few steps away. Her teammates had taken battle ready stances and Tali fell back among them even as she motioned for the rest of the girls to stand down. She wasn't happy to see Ty Lee, but at least she was still listening. Ty Lee took a breath and hurried to explain. "Upsetting you will give him more standing with the other guards. Just ignore him. It'll hurt his reputation more than anything else you can do."

Ty Lee fought to maintain eye contact with the Kyoshi Warrior and willed her to believe what she was warning her about. That the other girl remembered Ty Lee from their last confrontation was painfully obvious. What was less obvious was if that would damage any chance Ty Lee had of helping her.

_But…I gave up my life when I defied Azula at the Boiling Rock. I have nothing to lose anymore. I did so much I regret now, including what I did to you and your team._

"Why should I believe anything you say?"

_You shouldn't. I took so much away from you. Your freedom, your family, your friends back home, the ability to make a difference for your people…_

"Because it's the only way I can say I'm sorry."

* * *

Three days had passed, and Ty Lee was beginning to get nervous. The Kyoshi Warriors imprisoned here with her might not have their leader anymore, but Taliba was an able second and the rest of the Warriors followed her lead in Suki's absence. And while Taliba seemed content to watch Ty Lee from a distance for now, all it would take was a word or gesture to the other girls and Ty Lee's stay here would be even more miserable than it already was.

Taking several deep breaths, Ty Lee tried to clear the negative vibes out of her aura. Taliba wasn't the kind of girl to let her team take petty revenge for something that couldn't be changed. There was no reason to worry that any of the Kyoshi Warriors would try to force her into a situation that would end badly for her.

At least, Ty Lee didn't think so. All those side-long glances were starting to wear on her nerves.

"Alright! Everyone inside! Yard time is over, get moving!"

Sighing, Ty Lee did one last handstand to complete the subdued routine she had been practicing. She was grateful for the time they were allowed outside, even if it was just one measly hour. She left the out-of-the-way corner of the prison yard she'd settled herself in and made her way to the door nearest her cell block. She didn't have a long way to go, as her cell wasn't far from the doors that led outside - and it was two doors down from the one the Kyoshi Warriors were always ushered through.

A slight commotion to her left made Ty Lee look around and stop - shocked and apprehensive - as one of the Kyoshi Warriors made her way to Ty Lee's side. Subira, wasn't that her name? Ty Lee just knew that this girl had a very good reason to wish her harm. The last time they had met, Ty Lee had jabbed her in the back so hard it would have been impossible for her to move at will for at least three days.

"Ty Lee," Subira said with a gentle smile. "You've changed a lot since the last time I saw you. You've chosen a side finally, and become a better person for it. I forgive you."

Ty Lee's wide eyes tracked back to the other four Kyoshi Warriors, who had formed a subtle but firm barrier that temporarily prevented any of the guards from coming over to force Subira back to her cell. All of their expressions were open and forgiving.

"I…" she started, unsure of what to say. Subira simply smiled at her, bowed politely, and then left to rejoin her team.

Ty Lee barely made it to her cell before tears of relief and regret broke through her rigid control.

She had never known how much she needed forgiveness for what she had done under Azula until Subira had offered it.

* * *

"So…you weren't always meant to be Kyoshi Warriors?"

Sauda giggled and shook her head. "No. The Warriors train all the girls who want to learn to fight the same way. The trainees who are chosen to be Kyoshi Warriors simply get more specialized lessons after the formation of the team. But any trainee can become a member of the Watch."

"Boys can be trained for the Watch as well," Huan interjected in an off-handed manner. "But they're trained by Master Serik, along with any earthbenders."

"Aren't any earthbenders Kyoshi Warriors too?" Ty Lee wondered.

"No," Taliba spoke up in a lecturing tone of voice, as the others girls smirked at each other, sharing a private joke. Ty Lee suppressed a spurt of jealousy for their easy familiarity with each other. What she had lost with Mai and Azula could never be regained, and it had been by her own choice. She would _not_ regret it. She made herself listen as Taliba explained. "The original Kyoshi Warriors were all non-benders. Avatar Kyoshi chose them in part because of that. 'The traditional forms of non-bending fighting should not be lost.'" Taliba quoted, while her team nodded. "Avatar Kyoshi made that a stipulation for all future teams as well. We're taught to fight, but more than that, we're taught how to take benders down without any of the advantages of bending."

"I see." Ty Lee smiled hesitantly at the girls around her. "I think it's awesome your people have kept those traditions for so long."

Taliba gave the smallest of smiles to the Fire Nation girl, and Ty Lee felt as if, even though she could never be as close to these girls as she had been to Mai and Azula, she might very possibly be making a new set of friends to replace the ones she had lost.

* * *

"Rurik. I miss him most." Orange and yellow swirled in a chaotic yet oddly fluid manner around Rajani as she spoke. Maybe it was something to do with being homesick? Ty Lee had never seen such an aura before.

"Not Rajya?" Huan's raised eyebrow reflected the upwards curling motion of her aura-a lovely deep red color, which was interspersed with _other_ varying shades of red. Ty Lee cocked her head to one side, bemused. She hadn't been aware one person could have so many different shades of red in their aura. Azula certainly hadn't...

"No. I miss her too, she's my sister, but Rurik is…he's my big brother."

"Huh…"

"I understand, Rajani." Taliba said. "I miss my big brother the most too."

"Which one?" Sauda piped up. Taliba smiled sadly, her eyes far away. Gray swirls tinged the edges of her silver-golden aura, rotating slowly around her, perfectly reflecting her nostalgic expression.

"Either. Both." The second in command of the Kyoshi Warriors laughed a bit. "I'd have said, before we entered the war, that nothing would make me miss Tariq's big mouth, or Shahin's idea of 'sibling bonding'. But now…"

Subira, being closest to her leader, leaned toward her friend. Her aura - a compassionate blue - followed suit, and as Subira gripped Taliba's shoulder with a sympathetic look, the soft blue glow wrapped itself around Taliba's gray-tinged silver and gold aura. Taliba smiled wanly at her, the gray at the edges of her aura lightening the slightest bit.

Ty Lee blinked in confusion. She had never seen anyone's auras act like that before. It was almost like they were hugging.

There was silence for a few minutes, before Huan smiled.

"I miss listening to Min and Intan twin-talk at me to try to get out of trouble."

"Oh really?" Suada piped up over the laughter of her fellow teammates. "Last time they did it, didn't you say that you were going to throw them to the Unagi if they tried that on you again?"

Huan's aura dimmed slightly, denoting embarrassment, but none of it showed on her face. "Oh? And what about you, Sauda? I seem to recall you lamenting over the lack of opportunities to swim, not so long ago…"

Sauda made a face at Huan. "We're on an _island!_ There's a whole _ocean_ not two miles from here! How can I be the only one who wants to swim in it?"

The gray grief in all the girls' auras seemed to lighten a bit at this lament, and Ty Lee wondered why it made them happier. But then she remembered the _way _Sauda had said it - sincere, but over the top and humorous. Purposely teasing back at Huan. This must not have been the first time Sauda had complained about not being able to swim. Maybe it was a familiar complaint? Maybe the girls were happy to hear something familiar.

"Come on, cut it out," Sauda said, pouting playfully at her teammates, her aura sparkling with laughter. "It's Subira's turn anyway," she pointed out. "What do you miss most?"

Subira stopped laughing abruptly, before her face broke into an ironic grin. "I miss Ziv calling me Ira."

The laughter of the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors stopped as if it had been strangled. Each aura had the odd stillness that denoted total shock. Ty Lee furrowed her brow in confusion. What was wrong with a nickname?

"There is no possible way you just said that," Sauda managed. Huan and Rajani nodded in dumb agreement.

Taliba leaned forward, feeling Subira's forehead with the back of one of her hands. "Do you have a fever? You've always _hated _that nickname."

Subira batted her friend's hand away with a smile. "I'm not ill. I just…" she shrugged, the odd blending of brown and gray that meant confusion shifting through her aura. "I miss hearing him say it. I miss seeing Menuha slap him for getting me all riled up. I miss Ziv making all those elaborate apologies that everyone knows he doesn't mean, because he has too much fun making me mad at him. I miss him goofing off to make everyone laugh. I miss _him." _She sighed. "I don't have brothers, unlike most of you. Ziv is the closest I have, and he…he might infuriate me by shortening my name, but he's my sister's husband. He's _family._"

Ty Lee was starting to feel awkward now. She was part of the reason these girls missed their homes and families. She had been avoiding that thought by watching the Kyoshi Warriors remember happier times, and laughing with them at the odd things their siblings had done.

But that didn't mean that she wasn't aware that she didn't have the right to share in this conversation, even if the girls didn't seem to mind. She had caused their imprisonment, in part anyway. She really should just get up and go find an out-of-the-way corner to spend the rest of yard time in, doing some of her easier acrobatic routines.

That would be the proper thing to do.

Ty Lee was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice she had been asked a question until Sauda waved a hand in front of the Fire Nation girl's face. Ty Lee blinked. "What?"

Sauda giggled. "What do you miss most about home, Ty Lee?"

The acrobat sat for a moment, taking in the open, honest curiosity on all five girls' faces. Evan Taliba, who had been the last to forgive her.

They really wanted to know. They wanted her to be part of their conversation. Swallowing back tears of relief – and a little shame, she didn't deserve this - Ty Lee answered.

"I miss the coffee forests. And climbing in the trees until it was too dark to see." She smiled nostalgically at the memory of three little girls all playing as if they weren't anyone important. Even Azula. "I miss my friends."

Sauda traded a look with Rajani, before moving to sit next to Ty Lee. Leaning over, she hugged the girl. "You can be our friend, Ty Lee."

Peeking out from the shelter of Sauda's arms, Ty Lee saw Taliba nod in response to the questioning looks Huan and Subira gave her.

Within another minute, the Kyoshi Warriors had rearranged themselves so that Ty Lee was surrounded on all sides by smiling faces and sympathetic arms.

And despite the tears that tracked down her face, Ty Lee couldn't be happier.

* * *

"Are you sure we won't get in trouble for this?" Rajani asked, slightly apprehensive. Ty Lee nodded.

"All we have to do is make sure the guards don't see us. And if we just do small things, they won't."

Tali grinned rakishly. "I'm up for it." She plopped down on the ground by Ty Lee, gesturing for the other girl to sit as well. "If any guard sees us, we're just a few girls having a nice, quiet conversation. We're not causing any trouble at all."

Ty Lee giggled. "Right." She held out a hand, and Tali immediately offered her wrist. Ty Lee traced a path up the Kyoshi Warrior's arm, feeling the other girls watching intently. "This is the main chi meridian in the arm. Doesn't matter which one. They're the same. You can block the chi in a lot of places, but these are the best ones…"

* * *

"Do you have _any_ idea what's up, Ty Lee?" Tali whispered in an undertone as the guards – unaccountably twitchy today, as they had been all week – began herding them back to their cells. Ty Lee bit her lip.

"I don't know what today is, so I don't know how soon, but a comet is coming at the beginning of the wet season. I think you call it the fall," she murmured, speaking quickly. They didn't have much time before they were forced apart. "It gives a firebender a lot more power. The Fire Lord wants to use it to end the war. Just like Fire Lord Sozin used it to kill the Air Nomads."

Tali's stricken expression was the last thing Ty Lee saw before she was thrust into her cell.

* * *

Sighing, Ty Lee balanced carefully on her left hand, exerting strict control to keep her legs straight and her right arm curved gracefully to the side and up.

It had been two days since she had told Tali about the comet. The winds had been ever more steadily coming out of the east for the past few weeks. The wet season was almost here.

_The comet must have come by now,_ the acrobat knew. _That's why we've been kept in our cells. Some of the prisoners here are firebenders, they'll feel the comet. I hope Kyoshi Island wasn't destroyed. That would break the girls' hearts…_

And the fascinating interplay of colors in their auras would be overshadowed by the gray grief that was only an accent for now.

_It would be so sad if that happened to them. It would be so horrible. And they don't deserve that, any of them. _

All five girls were dealing with being imprisoned better than Ty Lee had expected they would, but it was a tenuous coping at best. They held out hope because they knew their home was as safe as any other place in this war and the Avatar was alive and free. If Kyoshi Island fell…No, she wouldn't think of that. She –

"Absolutely _not!"_

The shriek, in the warden's unmistakable slightly nasal voice, startled Ty Lee enough that she wobbled slightly in her handstand. Flipping back upright, Ty Lee wondered what – and who – had infuriated the warden so much. It wasn't that it was difficult, but he wasn't usually so…loud, in his outrage.

This conundrum occupied Ty Lee until her cell door clicked open and the warden scowled in at her.

"Get out. You've been _spoken_ for."

By who? Azula had ordered her locked up for life. She wouldn't have taken it back, not after Ty Lee's defiance at the Boiling Rock.

Her confusion was cut short as Sauda bounced into her cell, smile wide and incredulous and her aura…

Her aura.

It was almost blinding with the fierce sparkle that joy brought. There was no gray tinge anymore. It was gone as if it had never been.

Did that mean…?

"Ty Lee, come on! You have to show us around! None of us have been to the Fire Nation capital before!"

The Fire Nation lost the war.

* * *

"So, how badly is Pavel going to flip when he hears about your Water Tribe boyfriend?"

"Huan! He's not my – I mean…it's just…"

"Oh! So you _did_ get somewhere with him!"

"Sauda!"

"Do we need to run tactical interference with Pavel then?"

"Tali_ba!"_

Ty Lee only barely managed to keep her laughter internal. The reunited Kyoshi Warrior team had barely waited to get inside the royal transport Zuko must have provided – it was so _odd_ to think of him as Fire Lord now – before they started teasing Suki. It was difficult to tell which girls' aura was brighter. They intertwined so tightly that Ty Lee couldn't tell where one began and another ended.

Even if she couldn't tell them apart, it was nice to see her new friends so happy.

"What? Pavel wasn't impressed with Sokka. What makes you think he's going to be ecstatic to hear you're dating him now?"

Ty Lee wasn't sure, but she thought the glimmer of repressed laughter was coming from Rajani. The others weren't trying very hard to hide their grins.

"Not to mention he's an outsider," Rajani put in severely, but her mouth kept twitching as if she wanted to smile. Suki glared at both of her friends.

"It is _not_ my brother's choice who I chose to spend time with and-"

"Oh, is that what you call it? 'Spending time,'" Huan drawled, her own grin small, but most definitely not hidden. Suki blushed, but continued determinedly.

"-it doesn't matter that he's not Kyoshian. He's brave, and loyal and smart…" Suki trailed off, a look of mild horror on her face as she blushed madly and her friends snickered uncontrollably. Suki threw her hands up into the air in exasperation, but her mouth was twitching into a smile as well.

Their auras were all so _bright_. They were all so different, but they worked together so well.

"How'd you do it?"

Ty Lee didn't realize she'd spoken aloud until she became the focus of six sets of curious eyes.

"How'd we do what, Ty Lee?" Rajani asked. Ty Lee blushed a bit, but answered anyway.

"I mean…you're all just so different, that's all. But you work together without even thinking about it." _Like Azula, Mai and I used to do. _"I was just curious how all of you got this way."

There was silence for a few moments, and a flurry of glances full of silent meaning were exchanged. Tali grinned widely after one such exchange with Subira and Suki, and spoke.

"It started with tradition."

Huan groaned and slapped the younger girl upside the head while the others snickered. This only served to confuse Ty Lee even more. Huan seemed to pick up on this and she turned away from her attempted staring match with a snickering Tali.

"You see, Ty Lee, the eldest daughter in my family has always become a Kyoshi Warrior. It's tradition." Huan ignored the resurgent giggles of her teammates, even as Ty Lee tried valiantly to contain her own giggles. She apparently succeeded, because Huan continued. "So when I was eight, my mother walked me to my first day of training…"

* * *

A/N2: Now, seriously, this story will contain a multitude of OCs, but before you all run off screaming about Mary Sues, let me say this. All of the OCs in this story are such by default. They are people that HAVE to exist, but are never mentioned or named or seen in the Avatar-verse. Suki must have had parents, do we all agree on that? By association, her teammates must have parents as well. And you will never convince me that every single one of the Kyoshi Warriors are only children. Even if we only look at Ozai's Girls: Azula is the youngest of two, Ty Lee youngest of seven and Mai is the eldest (albeit by several years) of two. I know very few only children in real life, and there is usually an outside reason why there was only one child. Therefore, several of the girls have siblings.

My beta Caelum and I have been talking about the KW girls and their families and friends since I named the other five girls on Suki's team for my story An Unexpected Reunion. Feel free to go look at the publish date for that story, notice it was in June of _last year_ and then back that date up about a month and a half, to when I actually named these girls. So, these characters have been around for well over a year now, and Caelum and I have rather ruthlessly squashed any Mary Sue tendencies we've found. The girls are not perfect. They have flaws and annoying personal traits and they get mad at each other for silly reasons when under stress ("You're acting like Min and Intan did when they were five!" for example). By no means are these girls perfect. Neither are their siblings, friends, and parents perfect, as will be seen in future chapters.

So, if my logic and the brief preview of my OCs in the above chapter has not convinced you of the absence of the Mary-Sue variety of OCs in this story, then I bid you a good day (or evening, depeding on when you read this) and wish you the best. For those of you that have decided to keep on and give this rather massive undertaking of mine a chance, welcome and feel free to ask questions! There are many things Caelum and I have hashed out that don't get mentioned explicitly in this fic. Just one example, to determine the size of Suki's training class in KW training, Caelum and I had to figure out how big Kyoshi Island was, how many people lived in her village, and how many villages might exist on the island. (And believe me, the Avatar wikia page does not give sufficient detail to figure this out! We looked; several times!)

As you might have noticed, I am very much excited about this story. I'm not usually so verbose in my A/Ns. This has been my pet project for over a year and I'm interested to see how many people I can get interested in it. And for those who like random trivia, the original draft of this story? 30 something pages, and the second draft grew to 60 something very quickly! With the addition of a prologue to provide some sense of familiarity for my readers, it's even larger now. I expect it will only grow larger as I edit the other chapters into fic publishing form.

Cyber cookies aren't good enough for anyone who has read through my massive A/N. I shall give you all a cyber award! Review so I can send it to you! *grins*


	2. The Beginning of the Story

A/N: Here we go! First 'chapter,' so to speak, and quite a bit longer than my normal chapters, on any story. But, as my wonderful beta pointed out, my chapters _need_ to be this long in order to establish well-rounded characters. *snickers* That doesn't mean it wasn't weird, when I finished compiling this chapter and saw the page count! I'll list the KW girls mentioned herein and their relations at the end of the chapter for anyone who might like a more concise version of who's related to who.

* * *

Huan stared stoically at the building in which she would now spend the majority of her time for the foreseeable future. She wondered just why _she_ had been born as the eldest, and therefore only daughter required to make the effort of joining the Kyoshi Warriors. It wasn't like this was something she had asked for; she hadn't even ever considered training to be a Kyoshi Warrior. It was just something she knew she would do one day, simply because it was expected of her.

The first-born daughter of her family had always been a Kyoshi Warrior, after all. It was tradition.

"Stop pouting, Huan." The young girl looked up to see her mother smiling down at her in amusement. "You will make friends with the other girls, especially the ones who will be a part of your team someday."

It was inconceivable that she would fail to make an active Kyoshi Warrior team after all. It just wasn't something that was possible for a girl in Huan's family. Even her mother had managed, and she hadn't gotten along with Aunt Meri _at all_ until shortly before they were both placed on the team.

Oh, but it was _Instructor_ Meri now, wasn't it? Huan made a face at the ground and sighed heavily. Looking up at her mother, she decided not to think about her mother's Kyoshi Warrior team. That would only get her in trouble.

"But Momma, I don't get along with any of the girls my age already. Why should they suddenly be my friends just because I'm training with them?"

"Huan!"

A faint blush stained the young girl's cheeks. She wished new trainees were allowed the traditional makeup of a Kyoshi Warrior. It would be easier to hide her embarrassment that way.

"Do try to keep a check on your tongue," her mother sighed. "You make others nervous when you just blurt things out like that."

"I'll try, Momma." Maybe if she only answered direct questions she wouldn't embarrass herself so much.

"That's all I can ask of you, my girl." Her mother smiled down at her and bent to give her a hug. "I am proud of you, remember that. Your father is as well, you know."

"I know, Momma, he told me so this morning before he left with the others to fish in the bay."

Her mother chuckled. Huan blushed, realizing she'd let her tongue run off with her again.

"Work hard, my girl, and I'll see you when training ends for the day."

"Yes, Momma. I will."

"I love you."

Huan smiled up at her mother, and returned her hug as tightly as her small arms would allow. "I love you, too."

Huan pulled back long before she wanted too, and marched into the Kyoshi Warriors' training building, head held high.

She was going to continue her family's tradition. She would not fail. And who cared if the other girls thought her weird for saying whatever was on her mind? She had a mission to fulfill.

* * *

Amrita looked up from her mending as soft footsteps approached her front porch. Na'ima climbed the steps and sat beside her, smiling nostalgically.

"Well, is Huan off for her first day of training?" Amrita asked her long-time friend. Na'ima snorted.

"You know she is, Amrita. Don't try to say you don't."

"Then I won't say it."

Na'ima giggled at Amrita's arch tone. "Of course not. You will only imply it."

"Well, of course."

Silence fell between the two women. Na'ima shifted uncomfortably, and when she spoke again, her eyes were dark with painful memories of loss.

"Do you…do you really think it was right, to send Huan…I mean…"

Amrita sighed. She had been afraid of this. "Yes, Na'ima. It was the right decision. Your family has been part of the Kyoshi Warriors since their foundation. It wouldn't be right to just pull Huan out of her spot because you are afraid for her."

"But Noemi…"

"Noemi and Imani would have told you the same thing." Amrita laid a gentle hand on her friend's arm. "We may not be an active team anymore, Na'ima, but that doesn't mean we don't have a duty to make sure there is a team to follow us. Kyoshi Island must have a Kyoshi Warrior team. It's tradition." Her voice firmed as she spoke of their duty, but softened once again as she saw the unconvinced look on Na'ima's face. "Huan will do well. Whether or not she makes a position on an active Kyoshi Warrior team is in her hands now."

"I just…I'm afraid, Amrita." Na'ima shook her head. "When we were trainees, it wasn't…it was different. But now…she could die!"

"You're assuming Huan will make the team, Na'ima," Amrita said severely. "And you're also assuming that she'll only be put in danger if she's a part of the Kyoshi Warriors. Do you want to tell that to Lin? Or Madam Chantrea?"

"No! I wasn't implying it was…it's just…but…you're not listening-"

Amrita overrode her friend's protests. "Really? You weren't implying that Master Heng _shouldn't_ have died that day? That the only reason Lin didn't was because he _wasn't _a Kyoshi Warrior? Cause that's what it sounds like to me."

Na'ima turned her head away, tears standing in her eyes. Amrita moved to crouch in front of her friend, hands cupping her face to force eye contact.

"Listen to yourself, Na'ima. Huan could just as well die in a storm like Master Heng, Noemi and Imani did. She could fall and hit her head on a rock and die that way. The Fire Nation could finally arrive and conquer Kyoshi Island and they might decide they don't like outspoken little girls." Na'ima stiffened, but Amrita didn't let her speak. "Continuing your family tradition _does not_ put Huan in any more danger than all of us are in already."

Na'ima's face scrunched into something resembling a smile. "You and your common sense. Can't you let me have my panicky moment and get it over with?"

Amrita smiled. "No, I can't. It's part of being the reasonable one on the team, remember? And don't think for one moment," she continued, removing one hand from Na'ima's face to wave an admonishing finger in front of her eyes, "that we wouldn't do everything we could to save Huan, if she somehow got herself into a deadly situation."

Na'ima's attempted smile disappeared. "I know that. It's just…" she pulled back and Amrita let her go. "We hear news of Fire Nation advances more and more. With almost every trading ship that puts into port here. It used to be we'd only hear of the war once or twice in a year, now…?"

Amrita sighed. "I know. The new team will have to take a more active role, as the Fire Nation comes even farther south, but for now, Na'ima, consider this. The training Meri and Shreya will give Huan, on top of what you have already taught her, will give her the skills she needs to survive that possibility. Do you want to take that from her?"

Na'ima shook her head vigorously. "No!"

"Then leave her in her place."

There was silence for a long moment, Amrita returned to her own seat and her mending, letting her friend think in peace.

"Huan will love the training, even though she will not admit it to herself right now," Na'ima murmured, almost to herself. Amrita snorted, not bothering to look up from her mending.

"That girl of yours is as stubborn as you are. I'll bet you she makes the team and then surprises herself with how much she enjoys being a part of the Kyoshi Warriors."

Na'ima looked up from her hands, grinning now. "I just hope Meri and Shreya are prepared for the havoc Huan's tongue will cause in class!"

Two warm gazes met, bright with the anticipation of _someone else_ getting to deal with an out-spoken and too confident eight year old.

Laughter sounded out from the porch.

* * *

Huan sighed as she worked through some basic exercises with her new fans. She supposed it was only fair for her to start at the same level as every other girl, but she had known the basics of fan fighting for several months now.

Her mother had been a Kyoshi Warrior, after all, and had shown her. Huan had practiced the moves under her mother's tutelage as a way of preparing for the day of her entrance into training.

Maybe she should not have been so eager to learn the forms for the fans. She was bored.

But the movements her mother had shown her had been so graceful and beautiful. Huan had wanted to learn how to move like that. She could lose herself in the movements of the fan dance, and ignore the fact that all the girls her age thought her weird. She could ignore –

"Honestly! It's so simple! Why can't you understand such a basic move?"

Jolted from her thoughts, Huan glanced to the side, seeing one of the older girls sighing theatrically, a trembling first year student standing cowed in front of her. The elder girl was familiar to Huan, but only because she had heard her mother's quiet rants to her father about the older girl's inappropriate behavior.

_Momma said she was…arrogant? Yes, that was it. _

"Really, these first year trainees ought to be separated from the more _advanced_ students. It would make everything so much easier. Then we wouldn't have to slow down to let slow-pokes like you keep up."

Huan blinked in astonishment. _She's rude, too, _she thought, seeing the tears gathering in her year-mate's eyes. _Not everyone has a Kyoshi Warrior as a mother to teach her. _

"Just quit getting in my way, little girl! If you have to be here, don't hold me back." The girl – _Wen_, Huan's memory supplied – sniffed haughtily and spun on her heel. The other first year trainee sniffled, her eyes tearing. Distantly, Huan noticed one of other older girls place a comforting arm around the crying girl's shoulders, shooting a dirty look at Wen's back. Huan set her mouth in a firm line and marched up to Wen, taking care to get _exactly _in her way.

"What-?" Wen stumbled to a stop with an outraged exclamation. Huan glowered up at the older girl.

"That was not polite. You should apologize."

Wen sneered. "Get out of my way, little girl. You're only a first-year trainee. You don't have the right to tell me to do anything."

"And you don't have the right to be mean to others because they haven't learned things you already know!" Huan snapped back. From the corner of her eye, she could see Aunt Shreya – no Instructor Shreya, during training, she must remember that – watching closely, ready to intervene. "We're not as old as you are, and not as advanced in some things, but we can learn those! You have no right to be so rude and arrogant!"

Wen's face colored an ugly shade of purple at that. She reached out to grab Huan by the shoulder. What she intended once she had grabbed hold of the younger girl, no one would ever know, for Huan _flowed _into movement the moment she saw Wen move to grab her.

Huan had not put away her fans when she came storming over.

Wen had not even brought hers out of her belt to start the day's practice.

* * *

Aunt Meri – no, _Instructor_ Meri, - had not been pleased with her, but Huan didn't feel the slightest bit ashamed of what she had done to Wen. She could deal with lectures, and bruises would heal.

Maybe getting smacked in the wrist with the edge of a fan would make Wen more cautious about her opinions of the skills of first year trainees.

* * *

"Huan, wait a minute!"

Just about to exit the training hall for the day, the first year trainee paused, looking over her shoulder. The girl who had comforted her year-mate after Wen's harsh words was jogging up to her, smiling.

"I wanted to congratulate you on what you did to Wen, this morning," she said, smiling. "She's needed someone to take her down a few dozen notches for a while now."

"She was being rude. It annoyed me," Huan said, shrugging. The older girl grinned.

"I don't think we were introduced. I'm Naamah."

"I'm Huan." Some unknown impulse – the same that had made her tell her mother she already knew Dad was proud of her this morning - prompted the young girl to add, "But you already knew that."

Another laugh burst from the older girl. This was so strange. Usually people found her odd for blurting out things like that.

"Yes, I knew that already. Instructor Meri wasn't very happy with you!"

Huan felt a smile forming on her face. Naamah clapped a companionable hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" She smiled and headed for the door.

"Sure," Huan said, staring after Naamah with confusion. Shaking her head, Huan decided that maybe all of her fellow trainees wouldn't be so bad, even if they were confusing sometimes, and headed out the door herself.

She wanted to ask her mother why Naamah didn't find her odd for blurting things out, but even more, she wanted her mother to explain why Wen could get away with such impolite behavior.

* * *

When Meri and Shreya cornered their friends later that night, their opinion was twofold.

"Your daughter, Na'ima," Meri began, using the haughty 'I am the leader, so listen to me' tone she had always used in jest when they were young girls in training, "is quite the precocious young lady."

"And though we already knew that," Shreya added, her expression stern, "I could have sworn you taught her better than to chastise girls two age groups ahead of her!"

Na'ima stifled her giggle, having already heard the story from her daughter – complete with exasperated expressions of disgust at the attitudes of all but one of the other trainees. She avoided Amrita's gaze. If she looked at the other woman, she would lose her battle with the giggles.

"But little Huan did have a point," Meri said judiciously, with the air of someone of high authority granting a small point to a subject. "Wen should not have been picking on the first years."

Shreya was the one who lost her composure first. A giggle worked its way out, and soon all four women were laughing. Na'ima managed to get the last word.

"I so wish…haha!…I could have seen Wen's face when a girl two years her junior bested her at fans!"

* * *

Suki hummed happily to herself as she skipped out of her house. She'd been let off any chores today as a special treat for her eighth birthday. There wasn't anything she HAD to do today.

It was wonderful.

"No chores! No chores! No chores!" she caroled to herself as she reached the path that ran through the middle of the village. If she went right, she could go to the beach and play in the surf for a little while; that part-Water Tribe girl Sauda might be there, too, so she could play with someone…or she could go left, and ask Madam Amrita if she would show her some more Kyoshi Warrior moves.

But it was a really nice day, and Suki was only eight. Playing on the beach won out over dreams of getting a head start on her plan of being a Kyoshi Warrior one day.

* * *

"You're sure we're not going to get in trouble for this, Tariq?"

"Oh be quiet, Shahin. It's practically tradition. We do it to Rurik and Pavel on _their_ birthdays."

"I don't know if you've noticed, brother mine, but Rurik and Pavel are OUR age-"

"Mine, you mean. You're only ten."

"What_ever._ My point is they know about it and expect it. Suki won't be expecting it. Won't it scare her?"

"Didn't Pavel mention something about her wanting to enter Kyoshi Warrior training this year?"

"Yeah, but what's _that_ got to do with anything?"

"She'll have to be prepared for anything then! We're just helping her get some experience in before she starts in the fall!"

Shahin stared at his brother blankly for several moments, then shook his head in helpless acknowledgment.

"Fine. But if this goes wrong, YOU get to fix it."

"Come on! She's getting too far ahead!"

* * *

The only clue Suki had to the approach of the two older boys was the sudden shouts at her back.

"Happy Birthday, Suki!"

Then she went flying through the air, and landed with a splash in the shallows. Taken by surprise, she ended up swallowing a good amount of water before she regained her balance and got her head back above the surface. She choked and coughed out the salty water, and regarded her attackers with wide, watery eyes.

"T-t-tariq…Sh-sha-hin…wh-what…" Suki coughed up some more water and managed a coherent sentence. "What was that for?"

"Wishing you a happy birthday, of course, Suki!" Tariq chirped. "We just couldn't let the day pass without giving the little sister of one of our best friends the appropriate greetings!"

Suki stared at him, then at Shahin, who looked vaguely shame-faced as he held out a hand to help her out of the surf. She accepted it warily, eyeing him as if she expected him to fling her into the water again. He flushed.

"You thought that was wishing me a happy birthday?" she asked, just to be sure she understood the older boy.

"Yup." Tariq said, looking slightly confused. Suki should have been _happy _they had remembered her birthday. Suki scrunched up her face and gathered as much air into her lungs as she could manage.

"YOU JERK!" she shrieked at him, and then fled the beach, tears streaming down her face.

There was silence for several moments, and then Shahin rolled his eyes and started to walk back in to the town. "I _told _you she wouldn't like it. Now you get to fix it. I'm going to go make sure Pavel knows who to come to beat up because his little sister is in tears on her birthday."

"But-but-but…Hey! No fair! Wait, Shahin! I didn't mean to make her cry. I just wanted to-"

"I don't care what you thought that was, but Suki is _eight_ and a _girl_ and NOT HER BROTHER! What we do to Rurik and Pavel on their birthdays is not gonna work for everyone, you idiot!"

Tariq stared at his brother's retreating back, and wondered just when Shahin had started to sound like the eldest sibling.

* * *

Pavel sighed and rubbed his forehead, trying not to take his anger out on Shahin. Tariq was the real idiot behind this, even if Shahin had participated. Pavel would deal with Tariq later. For now, Pavel had to find his little sister and try to salvage what was left of her good mood for her birthday dinner that night.

"You said she ran this way when she left the beach?"

"Yeah. She might have changed directions once she was out of sight though."

"Right. Of course. Why would finding an eight-year-old girl be _easy?_ That'd be too much to ask." Sighing once again, Pavel turned to Shahin. "Look, you go back to the village. Tell my mom Suki's gonna be late back and I'm with her, okay?"

Shahin nodded. "I can do that. But how are you gonna find her?"

"I'm going to drag that idiot of a brother of yours with me and make him help fix this mess," Pavel answered. Shahin grinned a bit, but seemed hesitant to voice his next comment. Pavel fixed the other boy with a wry look. "I'd be madder at you if you hadn't tried to talk Tariq out of it and if you hadn't come got me right after Suki ran off. But you did, so you're not in _as much_ trouble as Tariq is."

"Right," Shahin muttered, red in the face. "I'll…just go tell your mom then…" He disappeared back up the path to the village. Pavel changed direction to intercept Tariq's route back to his house, muttering darkly to himself the whole way.

* * *

Amrita finished wringing out the last of her newly washed laundry and pinned it up on the line in her backyard. Shaking her hands to rid them of the last of the clinging water droplets, she smiled in satisfaction.

"There. All done!"

She'd never have expected a family of three to generate so much dirty clothing. But her husband and her toddler son surely proved her wrong every time she went to do the next batch of laundry.

"I ought to make my husband help with this," Amrita said with amusement, not really meaning it. Her husband's reaction to adding laundry duties to his fishing would be amusing though.

For a moment, the thought of fishing and the sea combined with the conversation she'd had with Na'ima recently made Amrita's eyes slide out of focus, seeing a battered fishing boat put into the bay, with a lone, drenched, and horror-stricken fisherman clinging to the rail. Three people had died during that terrible storm; two of them some of her closest friends, her teammates…

Shaking herself, Amrita scowled at her newly clean laundry.

"It was eight years ago. You have no need to dwell on it any longer." She told herself firmly. It wouldn't help anything, and Noemi and Imani would have scolded her had they known she was dwelling on their deaths.

"Madam Amrita?" came a call from the front. Amrita swung her head around, identifying the voice as belonging to the boy who lived a few houses over and down from her own home.

"Pavel?" she called back, confused. The young boy didn't often come to her house by himself. He was usually seeking his wayward sister, who often came for tips on fighting and preparing for Kyoshi Warrior training from a former Kyoshi Warrior herself. "Just a moment, I'm coming!"

When she reached the front door, she saw that Pavel wasn't alone. He was accompanied by a rather sullen looking boy of the same age, with slightly mussed brown hair.

"What can I do for you, Pavel?" She asked, noting the elbow the boy dug into his friend's side when the other boy would have spoken.

"Is Suki here, Madam Amrita? She ran off a little while ago cause my idiot friend here scared her-"

"I didn't scare her!"

"Shut up, Tariq, you so did. And since Suki comes here so often looking for fighting tips, I was wondering if you'd seen her."

"No, I haven't seen your sister today, Pavel. I'll send her on home if I do, alright?"

"Thanks, Madam Amrita."

"You're welcome, young man."

As she watched the boys leave, she heard part of their argument.

"I didn't scare her!"

"Then why'd she run off and hide, huh, genius?"

"How'm I supposed to understand girls?"

"You have a sister the same age!"

"But Tali makes sense! Suki doesn't!"

"They aren't that different!"

"How would you know?"

Chuckling, Amrita turned back inside. Boys. They never could keep out of trouble for long. And then a thought struck her, one that had her groaning in good-natured horror.

_I'm raising a boy, too…_

_

* * *

_

Suki heard voices coming up the path, and ducked into the small alleyway between two houses to hide. She knew both of those voices.

Her brother and Tariq.

"I didn't _mean _to scare her, Pavel, I just though it'd be a good idea to wish her a happy birthday!"

"She's _eight_, you idiot. And she's not one of the boys! She's not going to like being thrown into the bay as a happy birthday wish!"

"Why not?"

"It's not something girls like. You ought to know that. You think Tali would like it?"

"Shahin and I wouldn't be able to get away with throwing Tali in the bay."

"Oh, so you do it to MY little sister instead?"

"That's not what I meant!"

Suki felt slightly cheered hearing her older brother ream out Tariq for his idiotic actions earlier that day. It made her feel warm inside, that her brother cared enough to lecture one of his best friends on her behalf.

"You know, he's been looking all over for you."

The quiet voice startled Suki into a small jump and a squeak. She whirled around to see another of her brother's friends leaning out of a window in the house on the right. He grinned at her.

"Rurik!"

"Pavel reamed Tariq out _good_ when Shahin told him what he did. I could hear it even from Master Serik's training grounds. Shahin only got off because he came clean right away to Pavel about what _he _did. I don't think you're going to have to worry about him doing that again. Especially not on your birthday."

Suki scowled out at the road, where her brother and Tariq had just passed without noticing her.

"At least let your brother know you're okay? Relatively, of course," he added hastily as her scowl turned his way. "I know you're still mad. But he's worried about you. He dragged more than just Tariq into searching for you, you know."

"Yeah…whatever."

Rurik sighed. He disappeared for a moment and she heard him rummaging around in the house. A moment later, Rurik poked his head back out the window, and he tossed her a small winter coat.

"You're still soaking. Put that on until you get home, or you'll get sick."

Suki looked from the coat to Rurik, a question in her gaze.

"It was my little sister's," he said. Suki grinned.

"Which one?"

Rurik grinned back. "Cheeky. My oldest little sister, Rajya. Rajani's wouldn't fit you."

"Thanks, Rurik!" Suki said gratefully, and then wrapped the coat around her shoulders. "I'll let Pavel know I'm okay." As she turned to go, she tossed a last comment over her shoulder. "But I think I'll wait until Tariq actually apologizes to Pavel for scaring me!"

Rurik just laughed. "No more than he deserves." As Suki disappeared back towards her house, his grin widened. "And now Pavel owes me. I told him I'd find Suki before he did."

* * *

None of the parents involved were ever quite certain what had happened, but by the time Suki had returned to her house, Tariq had been convinced to apologize to her. Suki had stood with her arms crossed and a frown upon her face as she listened. When Tariq had finished, she nodded curtly, shrugged out of the borrowed winter coat, and shoved it into his arms.

"_You_ can take it back to Rurik, since _you_ started this mess," she informed him. Tariq had sputtered, but at a glare from Pavel, he sighed and complied, kicking moodily at the floor as he left the house.

Life returned to its normal peaceful pace.

At least, for a little while.

* * *

Taliba hummed to herself as she carried the used wash water out to dump behind the shed. Today had been a good day. Her elder brothers, Tariq and Shahin had made themselves scarce for the majority of it, only bothering her this morning, in their usual 'we're older than you and therefore we have the right to tease you mercilessly' after-breakfast routine. She had nearly figured out what their next prank would be, too. Not that it would help her stop it, but she wouldn't be surprised, and that made them leave her alone faster.

Really, must all older brothers be obnoxious?

"Hey, Tali!"

The eight year old stubbornly ignored the hiss. It was always best not to encourage her brothers. Granting them attention, especially when it involved moving into the woods behind the house – with all the potential for surprises it held – was a BAD idea.

"Tali! Psst! Come over here!"

Taliba studiously ignored Shahin's continued attempts to gain her attention. Used wash water successfully emptied, Taliba fished out the rag her mother had given her and started wiping up the last drops of the water. She could refill the bucket with water from the well and scour it with some sand and then her chores would be done.

"Taaliibaa…" The whine intruded on her ruminations and Tali forgot about ignoring her older brother in favor of glaring in his general direction.

"Shahin! I am not coming over there! I have chores. Leave me alone!" She spun on her heel, stomping over to the bucket that contained the scrubbing sand, glowering the whole way.

"Little, bitty Tali," crooned a different voice, older sounding, and male. "Are you _afraid?_ Scared to come to the edge of the woods where your _scary _big brothers are?"

Tali stopped dead in her tracks, fingers twitching. She wished she were an earthbender at that moment. She would have loved to throw a boulder at Tariq right then.

"Or maybe she just doesn't wanna admit the big trees scare her. Little, bitty Tali…" Shahin joined in, gleeful sounding.

"THAT'S IT!" Spinning once more on her heel, Tali stomped over to the woods, ready to give her older brothers a good long lecture. She had barely reached the trees, spotted both of her brothers, leaning casually against separate tree trunks, grinning, and drew breath to shout at them…

And was promptly soaked as both of her brothers simply shifted their weight, releasing trip wires to dump what seemed to be the entirety of the dirty dishwater of all Kyoshi Island onto their little sister's head.

Both boys beat a hasty, cackling retreat before their little sister could gather her wits enough to come after them.

* * *

That same night, sitting and brooding in her room, Taliba formed a plan. She knew her brothers liked to pick on her, and she also knew they got up to things they shouldn't when their own chores were done.

If she could find out what they did, then she'd have a way to stop the pranks.

It was a fair trade, after all. No pranks for no tattle-telling.

* * *

Shahin glanced around nervously, almost completely positive someone was watching him. But there was no one in sight, and he couldn't hear anything besides Tariq's quiet footsteps pacing him a few yards to the left.

"Why are you so jumpy today?" Tariq's voice drifted over to him, only just loud enough to be heard. It wouldn't be good if Gran Chantrea found them sneaking behind her store house. She guarded the surplus catch that was brought in with an almost jealous zeal, making absolutely sure the island would have enough to eat during the winter.

It was one of the things that marked her most clearly as an outsider, as not a native of Kyoshi Island. The Earth Kingdom island wasn't subjected to the six months of harsh winter the South Pole was. But it was impossible for Gran Chantrea to shake that mindset, and so her zeal was tolerated. Besides, no one minded having a little extra to eat during the winter and her recipe for roasted parrot-fish was delicious.

"I keep thinking someone's watching us." Shahin murmured back. His eyes darted all around, and he spun on his heel, thinking to surprise an unwary follower.

No one.

"Shahin, come on, bro. Calm down. No one knows we're back here. And we'd be getting an earful now if Gran Chantrea knew we were back here." A small grin, sharing rueful acknowledgement of past failures.

Shahin winced. Getting on in age as she was, the Water Tribe woman had a firm grip and a seemingly endless ability to lecture about the importance of respecting your elders and not tampering with the surplus stores for the winter.

Which hadn't been fair. He and Tariq hadn't even been trying to mess with the surplus stores that time. They'd been trying to get at the old sail that was kept in there against the need for a quick fix on any of the existing boats. It'd have made such an awesome addition to their scheme to freak Tali out with 'vengeful spirits'.

"No one's there, Shahin. Now come on. You don't want to get caught, do you?"

"No," Shahin replied quickly, slightly offended. What kind of question was that? Of course he didn't want to get caught.

…but he _would_ if he kept paying more attention to trees than to where he was going and stepped on a stick or similar loud noise-making object.

"Right. Let's go."

* * *

Tali snickered quietly to herself as she shadowed her brothers. Only Shahin seemed to know she was following them, but Tariq had cajoled and scorned him into thinking it was just his imagination.

_Thanks, Tariq! _Tali chirped in her mind. _You're making this so much easier!_

No matter how closely she watched how her brothers moved, Tali just couldn't figure out how to imitate them. They seemed to know some sort of trick for avoiding dry leaves and stray twigs that crackled and snapped when you stepped on them. Tali had taken to relying on the fact that she was lighter than either of her brothers and moving in short and rapid spurts when she was forced to move or lose sight of them.

It didn't work perfectly, but it worked well enough. Neither of them had spotted her yet.

* * *

Sneaking back into their own house, grinning fit to burst, Tariq and Shahin shared a victorious fist-bump. Their next prank – not on Tali this time, but Wen truly deserved it – had been set up and all that remained was to wait for the explosion Wen was sure to cause when she discovered all of her shoes were filled with dead fish.

"I can't believe we got away with that one!" Shahin crowed. Tariq preened next to him.

"Rurik SO owes us after this one. She's not gonna be following him like a lost otter-seal for at least a couple days."

It was probably a good thing neither of their parents were home. It was very hard to contain their excitement at their successful prank. Their parents would have known something was up instantly.

Shahin wandered into the kitchen, poking around for spare bits of food left over from breakfast, idly munching on one of the apple-pears he found. "Where's Tali?" he mumbled to Tariq through a mouthful of fruit. Tariq shrugged, snagging an apple-pear of his own.

"Don't know. She was pouting in her room this morning. I'd give her another half-day before she feels she's ignored us enough to come talk to us again."

"Actually, Tariq," a young girl's voice intruded on their conversation. Shahin and Tariq both jumped, spinning to see Tali standing in the doorway to the kitchen, grinning triumphantly. "I decided I'd talk to you right now, because I have something to tell you two."

Shahin and Tariq exchanged glances, slightly nervous about the fact that their _little _sister, of all people, had managed to sneak up on them. "Yeah, and what's that?" Tariq ventured warily. Taliba's grin was distinctly feral now.

"I just wanted you to know you're not going to be pulling pranks on me anymore. That's all."

Shahin snorted. "Oh, really? And says who?"

Tariq didn't bother refuting Tali's statement. He was too busy laughing.

"I say." Taliba was serene, and didn't seem the least perturbed by her oldest brother's incredulous laughter.

"And just what…" Tariq gasped out. Shahin had gone back to his apple-pear, not the least concerned at Tali's statement. "…makes you think you can make us stop?"

Tali didn't say a word. She simply reached into her pocket, pulling out a rather ripe smelling shoe, and tossed it to the ground at Tariq's feet. A shoe that most definitely did not belong to her.

The only sound for several moments was Shahin's sputtering as he tried to dislodge the bite of apple-pear he'd gotten stuck in his throat when he'd seen the shoe fall to the floor. Tariq absently pounded him on the back, not seeming to notice when the chunk dislodged from his brother's throat, and Shahin didn't seem to care much. He simply moved out of the way, staring from the shoe to his sister with disbelief written clear on his face.

"You aren't going to be playing pranks on me anymore, because if you do, I'll tell Mom and Dad exactly what you guys get up to after your chores are done. And maybe I'll even tell Gran Chantrea you snuck some of the fish out of her storehouse to stuff in Wen's shoes."

Tariq glared at his youngest sibling. "You wouldn't _dare," _he hissed. Tali just smirked back and threw a still damp tunic at his head.

The same tunic she'd been wearing yesterday when he and Shahin had drenched her with the dirty wash-water.

"Try me," she commanded flatly, and spun on her heel to leave.

Neither boy spoke for some time, and then Shahin punched his brother in the arm, hard.

"I TOLD you someone was following us!"

* * *

"And she thinks she's got the right to tell us what to do! Just cause she managed to follow us ONCE without us noticing-"

"I noticed. You're the one who decided I was just hearing things."

"-she thinks she can make us stop teasing her just like that! I mean, what else are we supposed to do with our free time if we can't tease our little sister?"

Rurik rubbed at the headache forming behind his eyes, caught somewhere between amusement and disbelief. A quick glance to the side showed Pavel struggling in vain to control his giggles.

"Like she has any right to lecture us about what WE do. She stole one of Wen's shoes!"

That was the last straw. Pavel lost his struggle and he started to laugh with abandon. Rurik finally decided that he was more amused than anything else and joined his friend in laughing. Shahin and Tariq both huffed, offended.

"Guys! This is not funny! We have to do something!"

"Because…you…haha…can't tell when your little sister is following you?" Pavel managed to get out, some of his brown hair falling into his eyes as he struggled to focus on his friends. Rurik snorted in agreement.

"Just because _your_ little sister doesn't have any interest in following you around while you're plotting revenge on annoying, _obnoxious,_ wanna-be Kyoshi Warrior girls-"

"Nice as it was of you guys to find a way to get Wen off my back," Rurik interrupted, feeling he should stop Shahin before he got too far in his rant. Yes, Pavel's little sister Suki didn't follow him around – mainly because she was too busy pestering anyone she could corner to show her fighting moves – and yes, Wen had a crush on him, and had developed a habit of following _him_ around even after he'd told her he didn't like her that way. And he had complained about it to his friends, but still… "She was doing that on her own. She's been too busy with Kyoshi Warrior training to follow me around all the time, lately."

Tariq turned a betrayed and wounded look on his friend. "But…but…you said she was driving you insane!" Rurik rolled his eyes.

"She _was_ driving me insane. But the training has started to take up most of her time, so she can't follow me around so much anymore. Besides, I think she was getting over that crush on her own."

"You've got no appreciation of what we went through for you, man." Shahin grumbled. "Gran Chantrea almost _caught _us behind her precious store-house."

Rurik and Pavel exchanged suddenly sober glances. Rurik clapped the younger boy on the shoulder, "You're right. I didn't appreciate the danger you went through to do that for me. Thanks, Shahin."

"Yeah," Pavel said, glancing around to make sure the Water Tribe woman was no where in earshot. "You could have gone deaf listening to her lectures about those stupid stores."

* * *

A/N2: By the way, Tariq pretty much personifies his name, which means "He who pounds at the door." I was browsing a favorite name site and saw that and it instantly became my top contendor for the name of one of Tali's brothers. Shahin is "peregrine falcon" by the way. The kid is _smart_, what can I say? Once I had names, they kinda wrote themselves.

But, anyhoo...who's who of chapter one, let's take it from the top.

**Huan:** Her mother is Na'ima, and she has three younger siblings. They will be introduced in later chapters, but just for reference, they are Shun (girl, two years younger) and Min and Intan (four years younger), the twins mentioned in the prologue.

**Suki: **She has one sibling, an older brother (four years older) named Pavel.

**Taliba:** She has two elder siblings, both brothers: the Tariq and Shahin mentioned above. Shahin is two years older than Tali and Tariq is of an age with Pavel.

Hmm...was that everyone? Well, I mentioned Rajani so:

**Rajani:** The youngest. She has an elder sister, Rajya, and an elder brother, Rurik. Rurik is the eldest and of an age with Tariq and Pavel, while Rajya is one year younger than Rurik.

So, what'd you think, guys? Tell me in a review while I go compile the next chapter, in which Rajani and possibly Sauda and Subira will be introduced. But Rajani for certain.


End file.
